IRS reports significant increase in texting scams, warns taxpayers to remain vigilant
The Internal Revenue Service is warning taxpayers of a recent increase in IRS-themed texting scams aimed at stealing personal and financial information.
So far in 2022, the IRS has identified and reported thousands of fraudulent domains tied to multiple MMS/SMS/text scams (known as smishing) targeting taxpayers. In recent months, and especially in the last few weeks, IRS-themed smishing has increased exponentially.
During Cybersecurity Awareness Month in October, the IRS is reminding taxpayers to be on the lookout for phishing scams and other schemes that could put sensitive tax data at risk.
The IRS also wanted to remind taxpayers that it DOES NOT send emails or text messages asking for personal or financial information or account numbers.
If you received a fraudulent text or email message that looks like it came from the IRS, you can forward these messages to phishing@irs.gov.
Proposed Tax Legislation
The following is an overview of several recent tax proposals discussed or introduced in Congress over the past several weeks. It is important that you not treat these proposals as passed legislation. Many hurdles remain before any of these legislative ideas become law. In the meantime, it is useful to see what types of tax laws may be affecting you in the future.
SAFES Act (House of Representatives Bill 8871): This bill, introduced Sept. 15, proposes to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide a refundable tax credit for certain gun safes.
Employee Business Expense Deduction Reinstatement Act of 2022 (House of Representatives Bill 8848): This bill, introduced Sept. 15, proposes to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow unreimbursed employee expenses to be taken into account as miscellaneous itemized deductions.
The above are proposals. There are many steps each bill must go through before they are signed into law. Information retrieved from: GovTrack.us https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/subjects/taxation/6342